Man-made bee housing apparatus

Abstract

A man-made bee housing configured to be maintained in a substantially vertical orientation but including features allowing for a primary compartment to be rotated to a substantially horizontal orientation to facilitate removal of honey, inspection of bees, and other maintenance needs.

What is claimed is: 
     
         1 . A man-made bee housing comprising a primary enclosure including a plurality of walls, a first door, and an entrance aperture, the primary enclosure defining a primary compartment, the first door for accessing the primary compartment, and the entrance aperture providing a means of ingress and egress for bees to and from the primary compartment; a rotation element connected to the primary enclosure; and a support structure attached to the rotation element, wherein the primary enclosure is rotatable about an imaginary axis from a substantially vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation and vice versa. 
     
     
         2 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  wherein the door is located along at least a portion of the top of the primary enclosure when the primary compartment is oriented in a substantially horizontal orientation. 
     
     
         3 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a catch member for providing supplemental support to the primary enclosure when the primary enclosure is in a substantially horizontal orientation. 
     
     
         4 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of sub-compartments defined within the primary compartment, each sub-compartment separated by a partial barrier, wherein one of the sub-compartments comprises a brooding chamber. 
     
     
         5 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  wherein the rotation element further comprises a coupling member connected to and extending outwardly from a first side panel of the primary enclosure and oriented along the imaginary axis; and wherein the support structure further comprises a first beam including a trunk member and a ring member proximate a first end of the trunk member for engagement with the coupling member, thereby providing a rotational connection between the primary enclosure and the support structure. 
     
     
         6 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 5  wherein the rotation element further comprises a second coupling member connected to and extending outwardly from a second side panel of the primary enclosure and oriented along the imaginary axis; and wherein the support structure further comprises a second beam including a trunk member and a ring member proximate a first end of the trunk member for engagement with the second coupling member. 
     
     
         7 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  wherein the rotation element further comprises a coupling member connected to the primary enclosure; and wherein the support structure further comprises a first beam including a trunk member and an arm member, the arm member extending substantially orthogonal from the trunk member and oriented along the imaginary axis through an aperture defined at least in part by the coupling member to provide a rotational connection between the primary enclosure and the support structure. 
     
     
         8 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  wherein the rotation element further comprises a coupling member connected to the primary enclosure; and wherein the support structure further comprises an arm member extending substantially horizontally, oriented along the imaginary axis through an aperture defined at least in part by the coupling member to provide a rotational connection between the primary enclosure and the support structure. 
     
     
         9 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 4  further comprising a plurality of sub-compartments including a first sub-compartment, a second sub-compartment, and a third sub-compartment; wherein the first sub-compartment is located at the lowest elevation when the primary enclosure is oriented in a substantially vertical orientation; and wherein the volume of the sub-compartment comprising the brooding chamber is greater than any other sub-compartment that does not include the brooding chamber. 
     
     
         10 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 9  wherein the first sub-compartment comprises the brooding chamber. 
     
     
         11 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 4  further comprising a plurality of sub-compartments including a first sub-compartment, a second sub-compartment including the brooding chamber, and a third sub-compartment; wherein the first sub-compartment is located at the lowest elevation when the primary enclosure is oriented at a substantially vertical orientation; wherein the volume of the second sub-compartment is greater than the volume of the first sub-compartment and wherein the volume of the third sub-compartment is greater than the volume of the first sub-compartment. 
     
     
         12 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 9  further comprising a second door and a third door, wherein the first door provides access to the first sub-compartment, the second door provides access to the second sub-compartment, and the third door provides access to the third sub-compartment. 
     
     
         13 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a plurality of frames removably attached to the primary enclosure inside the primary compartment. 
     
     
         14 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a landing board extending outwardly adjacent the entrance aperture. 
     
     
         15 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a gear assembly including a hand crank, the gear assembly connected to the primary enclosure and providing mechanical advantage for a user to rotate the primary enclosure from a substantially vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation and vice versa. 
     
     
         16 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a gear assembly connected to the primary enclosure and an electric motor mechanically engaged with the gear assembly, the gear assembly providing mechanical advantage and the electric motor providing automation for rotating the primary enclosure from a substantially vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation and vice versa. 
     
     
         17 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a pulley assembly connected to the man-made bee housing, the pulley assembly providing mechanical advantage for rotating the primary enclosure from a substantially vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation and vice versa. 
     
     
         18 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 1  further comprising a cord connected to the primary enclosure and wound about a spool; and an electric motor for winding and unwinding the cord along the spool to rotate the primary enclosure from a substantially vertical orientation to a substantially horizontal orientation and vice versa. 
     
     
         19 . The man-made bee housing of  claim 4  wherein the first door further comprises an insertion aperture and a cap for blocking the insertion aperture, the insertion aperture sized and shaped to hold a cage used to introduce a new queen bee to any colony of bees housed within the man-made bee housing, the cage temporarily housing a queen bee and including an exit aperture facing the primary compartment.